Daily Devotional – June 2, 2020

Is going well and you're keeping cool or keeping your cool maybe a little bit of both. I'm done counting. I'm not gonna count any more COVID related days. I think you know 10 weeks of that is enough and after all that crisis has been completely supplanted by yet another one.

The Loss of Humor in a Season of Crisis

So no longer counting the COVID days. Have you noticed there's not really a whole lot of humor going on lately? You know a couple of months ago is like all over the place. There were jokes about you know no toilet paper, jokes about being stuck at home and you know husbands and wives and all that kind of stuff.

There's not a whole lot of that going on anymore. It's been been pretty quiet but I do have a friend on Facebook who every day he's posting memes that have that are humorous and quite a few of them have to do with coffee of all things.

You get the impression that the guy really loves coffee. So for example he says this he says I like to take long romantic walks to the coffee maker and coffee if you're not shaking you need another cup or how about this one I just need to finish this cup of coffee then I'll be ready for more coffee.

It reminds me of a sign I saw I think it was in a gift shop in Brown County Indiana years ago related to coffee and it said this it said warning unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.

So keep those kids keep those kids near. Well anyway I I'm sure that the the somber mood in the nation right now over the crises plural is pretty well taking its toll. I saw that quite evident last night on the news and I turned it on just a little before 9 and caught the last few minutes of Sean Hannity and before going into the next program and in those closing moments of his broadcast Hannity was of course covering all the rioting and chaos going on in so many of our cities and he was obviously upset.

He was also pretty angry and even admitted that his heart was really stirred up over what's going on and the tepid response of the governors and mayors of the cities and so forth to try to quell the rioting and the looting and the vandalism that was going on.

Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and the Call to Read Psalm 91

Well as his hour ended Laura Ingram comes on in the next hour I think it's nine o 'clock and she came on and for about a minute you know they they have a split screen and they kind of talk back and forth with one another and mostly about what was going on in Hannity's program.

But then Laura she saw how upset he was and she said to him Sean you need to read Psalm 91. I said whoa what did she just say? And then Hannity admitted he said well yeah he said I need that you know let not your heart be troubled advice you know kind of things sheepishly he kind of said this.

Well then Laura pressed him and she said Hannity go read Psalm 91. She said I read it today you need to go read it Psalm 91 and he agreed he would do that. Well frankly I was quite a bit surprised by that I don't watch a lot of news at least I never did until all this craziness started a couple months ago with the so-called virus crisis and now the escalating violence in our country is you know I try to catch up on what's going on you know about every night.

But I can't recall ever ever hearing a news anchor on a network or cable news channel recommend the reading of the Bible. I don't know maybe it was maybe it was seeing President Trump you know going across the street from the White House to the church and standing out in front of that church and holding a Bible maybe that inspired her.

But then again I mean I don't know these people very well but I do get the sense that especially you know both of them are have some kind of a faith background. But nevertheless I was pleased to hear the obviously troubled Sean Hannity admit that he needed to heed Jesus counsel let not your heart be troubled.

And I guess the thing to pray when he brings that passage up that verse up that statement of Jesus I guess the thing to pray is that he would go to his Bible and find that in John chapter 14 and keep reading because Jesus after he said let not your heart be troubled he he said that what he said next is actually the ultimate answer to a troubled soul.

He said believe in God believe also in me. Believe. Rest in. Trust. Put all your dependence and confidence in God the Father and Jesus the only Savior. Well then I hope that Hannity also read what Laura Ingram told him to read Psalm 91.

Have you read it lately? We looked at that Psalm a couple of weeks ago on the daily devotional time and focused on it primarily because there's that that verse verse 10 in the Psalm that says no plague shall come near your tent.

And we considered that and wondered is that a promise that we can claim in this virus crisis that you know godly Christians who trust in the Lord will not get COVID. And we concluded that that was not a legitimate application.

I won't go into that and review it. You can actually go back in the archive of saved devotionals if you want to try to find that. But the Psalm 91 is a powerfully comforting passage in the midst of all this chaotic upheaval if if the first couple of verses are true in your life.

Let me remind you what they say Psalm 91 verses 1 2 says he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress my God in whom I trust.

Now with that as a foundation the psalmist and and all who share his faith including you I hope can confidently move on in this world and and face the challenges of everyday life of our everyday life in this world right now.

And we can do so in the face of an enemy that would entrap us, of the terrors of the night or the weapons of the day. These are some of the things that the psalmist mentions here in this psalm of natural disaster or devastating disease.

And you can do so because you know God your refuge and fortress and you can know that he commands his angelic forces to protect you and to preserve you from anything that would harm you outside of his sovereign purpose for your life.

And I do want to I do want to emphasize that caveat that there are harmful things that come upon the life of a Christian and those who trust the Lord but never outside of God's providential plan and purpose for your life.

Well the psalmist closes with this commitment that the Lord makes to those who seek their refuge in him. He says this, the Lord speaking says, because he holds me fast holds fast to me in love I will deliver him.

I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

I can't imagine what it must be like living in a modern newsroom like some of these news anchors do. They're bombarded with you know bad news and crises from all over the world and especially wonder what it would be like in those newsrooms in these last five or six days.

But I can understand why someone who does have some kind of faith in in the God of the Bible, why they would turn to Psalm 91. When you see what's going on in Chicago and the Chicago burbs, Freeport, Rockford, Quad Cities, listen, let not your heart be troubled.

Believe in God, believe in Jesus, and hold fast to your God in loving trust and dependence. I trust you'll do that and I trust that God will graciously encourage you and preserve your mind and your heart in these days of upheaval and turmoil and chaos all over our country.

Let's pray and ask the Lord to do just that. And so our Father and our God, may our trust be in you. May you be our refuge, our strength. May we find shelter under your gracious wings. This we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Well I trust the Lord will bless you and keep you and cause his face to shine upon you and give you rest. Have a good day.